By James Myers, OAN Staff
Friday, September 20, 2024 9:24 AM
The House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill on Friday to increase Secret Service protection for presidential and vice presidential nominees from both parties.
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The 405-0 vote came just five days after the second assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, when suspect Ryan Wesley Routh allegedly camped out outside Trump's West Palm Beach golf club for nearly 12 hours.
Security forces patrolling the hole where Trump was approaching spotted Routh and fired shots at him, after he fled the scene and was later arrested by local authorities.
It was the second assassination attempt on Trump within 60 days after a gunman opened fire at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania in July, stabbing Trump in the ear and leaving him bloody on the stage.
“President Biden has made it clear he wants the highest level of protection for former President Trump and Vice President Harris. The Secret Service has moved to increase assets and levels of protection… and those were implemented yesterday,” Secret Service Acting Director Ronald Lowe told reporters on Monday.
“The president knows the Secret Service is providing the highest level of security. … There are a number of tactical assets in place following what happened 60 days ago. Those elements are working,” he added.
The bill now heads to the Senate for debate, but it's unclear how the Senate will handle security issues. Meanwhile, lawmakers in both chambers are debating whether to include additional funding for the Secret Service in a stopgap budget bill that Congress must pass by September 30.Number To avoid a government shutdown.
Additionally, Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) introduced a companion bill to the House-passed bill on Friday.
“In just 65 days, two psychopaths have attempted to assassinate President Donald Trump, one of whom shot himself in the head,” Scott said in a statement. “It is unthinkable that something like this could happen in America today. Congress must act immediately.”
Currently, Trump has the same countersurveillance and countersniper teams as any sitting president, as well as a defense intelligence team and a drone team.
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